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Races of Ciphra
There are eight major Races that live upon Ciphra. They are the three Tal' Races: the Tal'a, Tal'shi and Tal'tho; the four Elemental Races: the Cryta, Morath, Elast and Sarra; and Humans. Whereas each now lives upon Ciphra, each also has a unique creation story. Each have unique skills and abilities and appearances and most are easily distinguished from the others. Along with these, there exists many other secondary races that are products of demons of the elemental realms mating with one of the eight major races. The first of these races to be found are the Jahatta of the Great Odhann desert and are completely bereft of the ability to use magic. Humans The origins of Man are unclear, but it is known that by the end of the Second God War, Man roamed Ciphra much as the Tal' and Elemens did. Humans are a wide and varied species, with skin colors ranging across the spectrum from near black skin to light, cream colored skin. Human males grow to be around 5'10" and human females grow to be around 5'5", but there are always outliers among Humans. Humans are largely balanced in their natural Attributes, having an equal amount of potential for strength, speed, eloquence, High Magic and Low Magic. As such, Humans tend to not specialize in any one type of class and can be found operating almost any profession. The Average human will live to 75 years of age. Stages of Life Child: Birth to Age 14 Youngling: Age 15 to Age 30 Adult: Age 31 to Age 50 Elder: Age 51 to Age 80 Ancient: Age 81 to Death Kuru Scholarship The respected scholar Kuru Cal postulated that Man was the perfect balance of each of the Seven Races. This theory states that after the First God War, the Elemental Lords and Ladies came together with the Great Lady Esaris and the Great Lord Rhavin to form a peace, and the resulting actions created Man. This theory is backed by Kuru Nat's scholarship on the balance of the Elements in today's Sentient Beings. Where the primal Cryta may have been largely composed of Fire, modern Cryta are closer to an equal mix of Order, Chaos, Earth, Air, Fire and Water, albeit with a mite larger share of fire than the others. The same is true for each of the eight races, but the most balanced is that of Man. However, Kuru Tos has written extensively against this theory, calling it tripe and "composed entirely of wishful thinking". His theory, largely ignored in modern scholarship states that Man evolved on Ciphra independent of any Tal' or Elemental Lord or Lady, and most extremely, independently of any throne. His work talks of a great purge of the natural life on Ciphra when the Lords and Ladies first established themselves here, however his work has no basis and as such has been largely forgotten to time. If one does wish to pursue reading Kuru Tos, his manuscripts may be found in the archives of Mon'Tal. Tal'a The Tal'a are one of the three original races created by the Lords of the Thrones, and their creation was the spark for the First God War, or so claim the greatest Kuru scholars. Tal'shi Tal'tho Morath The Morath are the Sons of the Stone Throne and were born shortly after the Cryta via the will of Lord Agrint in the First God War. The Morath are a shorter and stockier race, with adult males averaging 5'1" and adult females averaging 5'4". The Morath, along with the Elast share the distinction of being the only races where the females stand taller than the males. The Morath usually have darker skin, even factoring in being underground most of their lives, but this color is still a shade of brown, and comes nowhere near to the coal black skin of the Sarra. Morath hair is also usually dark, but there exists contention as to whether this is natural, or a byproduct of having so much dirt mixed into it. The Morath are a stocky race, but are lacking in the ability to perform complex magics. This is not to say that a Morath cannot do magic, but it comes less easily to them than to the Elast or Tal'. As a result of their stocky stature though, the Morath are the second longest lived race often averaging over one hundred and fifty years of age. Stages of Life Child: Birth to Age 30 Youngling: Age 31 to Age 70 Adult: Age 71 to Age 100 Elder: Age 101 to Age 150 Ancient: Age 151 to Death Kuru Scholarship Dated in the Third Era, Between Late Fall 3E. 8 and Early Winter 3E. 32. The Morath were born out of Lord Ignatious' request for a hardier fighter; one that could live underground if need be for long periods of time. Lord Agrint thus fashioned the Morath for his brother God. The Morath were essential in undermining the Tal' defenses in the First God War and in fashioning defenses for the Elemental cause. The Esteemed Kuru Isana has repeatedly put forth the explanation that the Morath were created to be diggers, and as such a smaller size was preferable in the males, who were the workers whereas Lord Agrint had no need to compress the females so. Elast The Elast are the Daughters of the Sky Throne and were begot of Lady Namina in the First God War during the 90 Year Siege of Mon'Tal. Their task was not to act as soldiers but as elemental mages, hurling lightning upon the enemy Tal'. Elast are naturally a bit shorter than humans, with the average adult male Elast standing at 5'6" and the average adult female Elast standing taller at 5'9". Along with the Morath, the Elast bear the distinction of their females standing taller than their males. While similar in height to humans, Elast are characterized by their species wide silver hair and slim build and light colored eyes of all hues. The Elast are greatly suited to tasks of extreme delicacy, but are not strangers to war and often provide the mage component in an army. The Elast, being creatures of Magic have an extended lifetime, rivaling even the Morath in longevity, however the myth of the Morath as the longest lived continues to persist. This is likely because during their Adult stage, Elast retire to their homelands to be respected elders. Thus, while the Morath may continue to roam until the day of their deaths, the Elast spend the last Half Century or more of their lives sequestered. This myth is not helped by the fact that the Elast do not visibly age much once they reach their 50th Year, and only start showing true signs of aging until they reach their 200th Year. Stages of Life Child: Birth to Age 45 Youngling: Age 46 to Age 50 Adult: Age 51 to Age 170 Elder: Age 171 to Age 230 Ancient: Age 231 to Death Cryta The Cryta are the Sons of the Flame Throne and were first born of the defiance of Lord Ignatious in the First God War. Growing to a full height of over six feet, the average Crytan Male stands at 6'2" and the average Crytan Female stands at 6' even. Cryta are easily recognizable by several features. First, their skin is colored like dark ash, and their hair is nearly always pitch black. They have vestigial features upon their heads that once may have been horns, but these are often covered by a Cryta's hair. A Cryta's eyes will be colored from a deep red that can almost look black at times, to a light, pale pink color. Cryta have a predilection for physical and elemental skills, and have less of an ability with High Magic and Social Interactions, however with work, a diligent Cryta usually has no problem achieving what they wish to. Cryta are often driven towards melee fighting or dealings with fire magic, but are adept at other tasks as well. The Average Cryta will live around 65 Years as their life is cut short due to the intensity at which their bodies work. Stages of Life Child: Birth to Age 12 Youngling: Age 13 to Age 25 Adult: Age 26 to Age 40 Elder: Age 41 to Age 60 Ancient: Age 61 to Death Sarra The Sarra are the Children of the Sea, born during the First God War of the Will of Lady Aquitas, but only truly mastering the oceans during the peace that followed. The Sarra live upon the land, but truly wish to dwell upon the sea. As such, they are master seafarers and only live as far inland as necessary. The Sarra are of a height similar to man with males standing 5'10" when fully grown and females standing an average 5'6" when fully grown. Sarra are distinguishable from humans due to their skin colering from Coal Black to Darkest Brown, with their hair also being quite dark. The Sarra have unusually light eyes however, and many argue that this is because of their sailing requirements. Despite being born of water, and the cultural beliefs about it, the Sarra are some of the deadliest mage fighters, using the extremely malleable water they are born of to wreak havoc upon their foes. Also, being master sailors, the Sarra are quite dextrous and suited to many physical tasks. Stages of Life Child: Birth to Age 15 Youngling: Age 16 to Age 25 Adult: Age 26 to Age 70 Elder: Age 71 to Age 100 Ancient: Age 101 to Death Kuru Scholarship While some Scholars claim the Sarra's dark skin are a byproduct of their constant exposure to the sun, others have proven this view ridiculous as Sarra who do not sail are just as dark skinned as the others. Jahatta The Jahatta are the Children of the Desert, living in the Great Odhann. Traditionally the Jahatta are said to be descended from Lord Jahatt, a great Demon of Earth, a myth they take quite seriously. The Jahatta are a tad shorter than the average Cryta with their Adult Males standing at 6' and their Adult Females at 5' 10". The Jahatta have skin the color of sand, but bear the darkest hair similar to the Cryta and share the Cryta's Blood Red eye color, but unlike the Cryta, this is the only color that a true-blood Jahatta has. The Jahatta are a lithe race, but covered in wiry muscles as life in the Great Odhann will create. Like the Morath, the Jahatta are unsuited to Magic, but rather than just being less suited, the Jahatta are completely unable to regenerate mana; thus the Jahatta cannot perform magic. This does not prevent them from being some of the deadliest fighters on the face of Ciphra however, and their fanaticism is fearsome and terrible to behold. Stages of Life Child: Birth to Unknown Youngling: Unknown to Unknown Adult: Unknown to Unknown Elder: Unknown to Unknown Ancient: Unknown to Death Kuru Scholarship Kuru Jonsal expands upon this creation myth in his work The Jahatta People, a work that literally represents everything known about the history and culture of these illusive and secretive people. The Jahatta believe that in the waning days of the First Contact War, a Crytan woman of no particular standing sends her lover off to battle the Tal' enemies. The next day the war ended, but her love never came back. He died as the last casualty and would never return to her. She fled from civilization and ventured into the Great Odhann to die. Near death, she was found by a great Demon of Earth, who spirited her away to his demesne. There she recovered and looked upon him, the Great Lord Jahatt, master of the sand. He took her as his concubine and through her sired seven children. However, these children were not Cryta, and were not demons, but rather a combination of the two. Forever, they and their descendents would be known as the Jahatta. To each of these children, the Holy Mother granted a special ability. To her first son, Ehrlita she granted the Flaming Fist. To Yathalba, she granted the Leaping Fist and Karakara was given the skill of the Parrying Fist. The middle child, Ugara, was a drunkard and so the Holy mother granted upon him the Drunken Fist. Are was granted the Reversing Fist and Ubaryd, the Crippling Fist, twin brothers who would always consider the other his rival. These six brothers, born near to each other were great friends and were promised a sixth of Lord Jahatta's domain. There was peace in the Odhann, until Karashime was born. Karashime, born years after the other six and a threat to their holdings was hated; with greatest intensity by the first born, Ehrlita. Thus, to this final son the Holy Mother granted the Cleansing Fist, a style that would protect him from his elders. This act spark conflict among the brothers, who over the next years splintered and came to hate each other. One by one, they left the land of their Lord Father and Holy Mother and wandered the world. However, each came back to the Great Odhann with their concubines and began a tribe of their own. This is why the seven tribes fight each other constantly, not even pausing to fight outsiders, which they also do on a regular basis. This story though, is known as absolute myth to everyone outside the Jahatta themselves, who believe this legend to their very soul.